


Outlines

by Rionaa



Series: My Everything Better Plan [1]
Category: All Time Low, Bandom
Genre: Car Accidents, Hurt/Comfort, I know I already wrote a peterick one, Injury, M/M, Major Character Injury, Turns out I'm a psychopath like that, i don't care
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-01
Updated: 2015-11-01
Packaged: 2018-04-29 10:17:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,058
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5123903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rionaa/pseuds/Rionaa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's Jack's fault that Alex is nearly dead.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Outlines

**Author's Note:**

> Title is just my favourite song by All Time Low because I suck at titles haha

"So maybe it's not my weekend, but it's gonna be my year! And I've been going crazy, stuck in here!" 

Alex and Jack were practically yelling the words as they barrelled down the interstate. Every so often Alex would catch his husband snatching glances at him. Each time, Alex would chuckle and reach out with his hand to push Jack's face back towards the road, a shit eating grin on both of their faces.

As the sun set and the light began to fade, the pair began to settle into a comfortable silence. As the moon became visible, rain began to fall, pattering against the roof and windows of the car. Alex looked over at Jack happily, even as his eyes closed and he drifted off to sleep to the rhythmic sound of the rain.

Alex woke up to Jack shaking his shoulder.

"Whaat?" He mumbled sleepily.

"I think I missed the turning, I need you to read the map and tell me where to go."

Alex grumbled, but he sat up, pulled the map out of the car door and turned the pages.

"Where are we?"

"I don't know, you're the one with the fucking map!"

"Haha, I meant have you seen any signs, dumbass!"

"Oh, sure, uhm... There, what does that one say?"

Alex squinted at the sign in the distance.

"Junction 42. That puts us here." He frowned and looked around. "No, that can't be right."

"Let me see."

"What?"

"Let me see the map."

"No, I can do it, you're driving!"

"Alex, we're the only car on the road, let me see the map."

"Jack-" before Alex could protest any more, Jack reached over and tugged the map out of his hands.

"Haha!" Jack crowed, glancing up at the road before looking down at the map. "This writing's fucking tiny..."

"Give it back to me, I can find where we are." Alex reached out to take the map but Jack held it out of reach over his own shoulder, laughing.

"Jack, please!" Alex said in exasperation.

Jack opened his mouth to reply but before he could say anything, the car jerked to a sudden stop and everything went black.

***

Alex opened his eyes with a groan. He turned his head slowly, ignoring the pain in his neck. Blinking to bring his eyes into focus, he gasped suddenly at the sight of his husband.

Jack's head was down and his face was covered in blood, which was pouring from a wound on his head at an alarming rate. 

"Jack!" Alex unbuckled his seatbelt and reached out to the man beside him. Before he could touch him, however, a blinding pain shot through his chest and he jerked back with a muffled scream. 

"-'Lex?" Jack's voice was low and almost too quiet for Alex to hear.

He tried to reply but all that came out was a pained groan.

"Alex! Oh my god..." Jack seemed to become more awake at the sound. 

Alex's eyes were closed as he tried to take a breath that didn't hurt his chest. He heard Jack moving beside him, then felt a hand on his cheek.

"Oh god... Alex, can you hear me?" Alex tried to speak but as he opened his mouth he felt liquid trickle out from between his lips and tasted metal in his mouth. 

"Fuck..." Jack's hand was removed from Alex's face and he heard three dial tones before passing out again.

***

Jack was panicking. He held his phone up to his ear with a shaking hand.

"He- hello?"

"Hello sir, which service do you require?"

"Ambulance... I need an ambulance."

"What's your emergency?"

"I- we- my husband and I were in a car accident. He's hurt really bad..."

"Okay sir, I'm going to need you to remain calm. Can you tell me your location?"

"I-" Jack hesitated. "I dont know."

"Okay, can you tell me what you can see?"

"It's really dark... We're on the interstate, heading south, just past junction 42, I think."

"Okay, I'm sending out a crew now. It will take about twenty minutes to reach you."

"Twenty minutes? I dont think I- Alex is dying..." Jack spoke the last part in a whisper, as though saying it aloud would make it true.

"We're trying to reach you as fast as we can." The operator promised.

Jack nodded, though he knew she couldn't see him, and screwed up his face, taking a deep breath.

***

After a few minutes Jack realised something wet was dripping into his eye. He reached up to his forehead and his hand came away red. As he looked up to pull down the mirror, he froze. The car hood was wrinkled and bent upwards, but from underneath it a steady stream of smoke was pouring.

"Shit!" Jack reached out and tried to open his door. The frame was bent and jammed but after a few kicks it swung open. 

As he stepped out of the car his right ankle buckled underneath him and he screamed. Bracing himself against the side of the car he managed to pull himself round to Alex's side. He managed to stand without crying out, though his leg shook violently beneath him.

He was grateful when Alex's door opened on the first tug. 

He heard an ominous cracking sound coming from beneath the hood of the car and was engulfed in a cloud of smoke. He let out a sob as he looked at Alex's limp body sitting slumped in his seat. 

Moving as fast as he could while being careful, he reached over and lifted Alex into his arms. The other boy let out a soft moan of pain as his body was moved and Jack almost cried from relief at the sound. At least Alex was alive and semiconscious.

As Jack limped away from the crashed car with his husband gathered in his arms, there was another snap from the engine and suddenly the air was torn apart. Jack felt heat from the explosion singe the back of his shirt.

He made his way to the edge of the road and sat down, still holding Alex in his arms. As he turned his head towards the burning car he held the unconscious boy closer to his chest. If he had been ten seconds slower in getting Alex out of there they would both have been dead.

After a few more minutes Alex moaned again and stirred a little in Jack's arms.

"Alex?" He peered down into the pale face with round, anxious eyes.

"Jack... hurts..."

"I know, baby, I know, the ambulance is on its way..." 

"Dont leave... Dont leave me..."

"I won't, I promise. I've got you."

Alex's eyes slid closed and he drifted into unconsciousness once again. 

Jack could feel tears on his face mingling with his own blood and sweat.

***

After what felt like an eternity Jack heard sirens in the distance.

He saw the blue lights in the distance tearing down the deserted highway and felt his heart lift through the roof of his mouth.

The ambulance pulled up in front of the smoking remains of the car and two people scrambled out of it.

"Shit..." He heard one of them mutter. The other one however swept the area with his eyes.

"Hello?"

"Over here!" Jack's shout came out as more of a croak but it was enough. Both figures ran towards his voice.

"Alright, love, what's your name?" One of them crouched down beside Jack while the other hurried back over to the ambulance.

"Jack... I'm Jack, he's Alex, please, look after him first."

"Okay, Jack, we're going to need you to move away from Alex for a moment, okay?" 

Jack nodded numbly and stood up shakily as he watched the pair load Alex onto a stretcher and into the back of the ambulance. Then one of them helped him to climb in as well.

***

The ride to the hospital was full of emotions for Jack. He watched while the paramedic in the back injected Alex with a clear liquid, assessed his injuries, and then turned his attention to Jack.

"No, please, I'm fine!"

"You have a head wound and you could barely stand, please let me take a look at you."

Begrudgingly, Jack allowed him to bandage the wound on his head. When he went to remove Jack's shoe so he could examine his ankle better, Jack screamed and refused to let the man touch it.

***

Once they arrived at the hospital, Alex was whisked away on a stretcher accompanied by one of the paramedics while Jack was helped into a wheelchair and brought in by the other paramedic. She briefed the doctor who appeared beside Jack on the accident and her assessment of his injuries and helped him onto a bed. 

"Please, I need to know if Alex is going to be okay!" was the first thing that he said to the doctor.

"Alex is the man you were brought in with?" He questioned, "are you brothers?"  
"No, he's my husband."

The doctor raised his eyebrows but nodded. "I'll see what I can find out for you." He called one of the nurses over and muttered something in her ear. She gave Jack a pitying look before turning and walking away.

***

After x-rays, scans, stitches and bandages and a plaster cast around his ankle, Jack was discharged. Using the crutches he had been provided with, Jack made his unwieldy way to the waiting area where he sank into one of the uncomfortable plastic hospital chairs.

After half an hour, the nurse from before approached him.

"Excuse me, are you here for Alex Gaskarth?"

He looked up and nodded so fast he almost dislodged the bandage covering the stitches on his forehead. "Yes, is he okay?"

"Mr Gaskarth has sustained some nasty injuries, including a collapsed lung and some internal bleeding, but we've managed to get that under control. He's currently sleeping and you can go see him."

Jack got to his feet with some difficulty, struggling to managed his crutches. "Can you take me to him?"

"Of course, follow me." She took off at a slightly faster pace than he was able to manage though he hurried to keep up.

Finally they arrived at the door to a private room. The blinds were closed but a sign on the door read "A. Gaskarth".

"He's in there." The nurse said, uselessly, but Jack was already pushing open the door.

"Alex..." His voice cracked as he let out a soft moan of despair. He hobbled to sit in the chair by the bed, shuffling as close to Alex's head as he could. Alex's hand was lying limp on top of the covers so Jack seized it between his own as though to anchor Alex to the earth, though it was just as much to anchor Jack.

"I'm sorry," came the muffled sob eventually, "I'm sorry, I should have listened. I shouldn't have grabbed the map like that, its my fault we crashed, it's my fault you're lying here like this, it's my fault you nearly d-died. I nearly killed you!" His voice rose to a hysterical crescendo before he dropped Alex's hand back onto the bed and leaned forwards, resting his head beside his husband's. "Oh God..." He squeezed his eyes shut as his shoulders began to shake with broken sobs.

"Jack..."

He sat straight up at the sound of Alex's voice, though cracked and pained. "Alex? Oh, God, Alex..."

"Hey, baby, don't cry, I'm right here..."

"I know you are, I know, but goddammit Alex, you nearly died and it was my fault, I'm so sorry... I love you..." The last three words were spoken in a whisper, as though he feared that they might no longer be accepted, that Alex might never forgive him.

"I love you too," Alex's reply was immediate and definite, "don't cry, please, it's okay, I'm going to be okay, I love you so much." Alex reached up a hand and ran it gently through Jack's hair in a reassuring gesture. Jack reached up absently and took his hand, bringing it to his lips and placing a soft kiss on the back of it, knowing that even if he would find it hard to forgive himself, Alex had already forgiven him and Alex's opinion was the only one that mattered to him.


End file.
